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Research Assistant
Best for senior and mid-level candidates
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Build my resume As a successful research assistant, you’re a thorough data analyst, a top-notch lab technician, a friendly participant coordinator, and an organized librarian, all rolled into one.
However, demonstrating these skills on your research assistant resume can feel more overwhelming than autoclaving an entire lab’s worth of equipment. Not to mention, you may not know whether your school wants a CV or a resume. And what about writing a cover letter? Where to start?
Don’t fret—we’ll walk you through what makes a good research assistant resume and how to stand out among your peers.
Our 13 research assistant resume samples have helped researchers across disciplines land jobs in top labs and departments in 2025. If you’re stuck, pick a resume template complete with sample points to brainstorm your best resume yet!
Why this resume works
- Although you’re likely applying to several roles, tailor your research assistant resume to each application. It’s tedious, we know, but it shows your attention to detail and commitment.
- Ensure your resume includes keywords from the job description, especially in your resume skills section.
- Also, be crystal clear about your past research experience. Remember, the person reviewing your resume might not work in the same field, so you need to be abundantly clear about what research you conducted and how you executed your research.
- If any of the research you contributed led to a publication, be sure to mention it. While this isn’t the ultimate goal of research, it’s definitely a feather in your cap.
Why this resume works
- If there’s room, try to include a resume objective (also called a career objective) in your entry-level research assistant resume.
- This section lets you discuss an interest in a particular field (and in a particular research assistant position). So, tailor this section for every application you submit!
- It’s also wise to include a projects section filled with projects you’ve completed.
- Even if the projects aren’t relevant to the field of research you’d like to study, adding them highlights transferable skills like data analysis and experiment design. Plus, it fills up space so you’re not worried about filling up a whole page.
Why this resume works
- When it comes to your laboratory research assistant resume, numbers speak louder than words. Numbers quantify your claims and grab the eye of the person reviewing your resume.
- Use numbers to discuss publications, team members you managed, money you saved, grant funding you helped acquire, or the outcome of your data analysis. If numbers can measure it, include it!
- However, unlike your data, these numbers don’t have to be perfectly accurate—they can be rough estimates.
- You’ve got a keen eye for details, but so does the person reviewing your resume. If your resume has errors, you may not get the job.
- Before you hit submit, run your resume through a resume checker or a spellcheck system (Grammarly is a good place to start). Better yet, after you run it through AI, have a trusted colleague review it, too.
Why this resume works
- Clinical research studies are strictly regulated. Your ability to comply with procedural processes can mean the difference between a lab’s work succeeding or losing funding.
- Highlight your track record of adhering to guidelines in past trials to help your clinical research assistant resume stand out.
Why this resume works
- It will definitely take more than a run-of-the-mill student research assistant resume to knock the potential employer’s socks off, especially with your limited experience. What must you do? Well, consider a showcase of feats achieved during relevant projects.
- Ivy, for example, toots their own horn, telling recruiters they collected and organized data to ensure survey responses were recorded accurately during their stint as a student research assistant. Their wins as a volunteer school event coordinator paints them in a good light, too, as they showcase their soft and hard skills (think leadership, organization, Microsoft Office, etc.).
Why this resume works
- A relevant educational background? Check. An impressive skill set? Check. Years of experience? Check. We have no doubt you can be one of the front-runners for that open job. Ensure you don’t ruin your chances by overloading your sociology research assistant resume with jargon.
- Take a few seconds to skim Dorian’s masterpiece. Notice big words like symbolic interactionism, deviance, and path dependency? No! By using simple lingo to describe their accomplishments, they prompt recruiters to read their resume and assess their qualifications.
Why this resume works
- Put yourself on the “Could be an ideal fit” list by using action verbs to kick off your bullet points in your public health research assistant resume.
- You see, power words like developed, designed, and cataloged that you’ll find on Selene’s sales pitch hold the power to earn you the recruiter’s favor because they shine a light on your competencies and achievements (instead of mere responsibilities). You bet that will set you apart from the rest of the stack that didn’t bother.
Why this resume works
- The chances of your science research assistant resume getting more than 10 seconds of the recruiter’s time are pretty slim. Want to know how you can score an hour-long interview before they move on to the next one? Go with a simple structure.
- When it comes to putting together an uncluttered resume that is easy to read, the one-column layout is the best option. Capitalize on clear subheadings, bullet points, and a splash of color (think red, like on Nico’s piece) to complement your pitch and help it slide past the applicant tracking system (ATS) right into the recruiter’s inbox.
Why this resume works
- With handy fortes like communication and statistical analysis, and proficiency with relevant software like Tableau and Qualtrics, you’re pretty much the ideal psychology research assistant. But here’s the thing: when it comes to your resume, crowding it with stuff from way back, like that stint bussing tables at a local restaurant, isn’t going to do you any favors.
- You’ve heard the saying: Less is more, they say. How about letting your work history section zero in on your three most recent roles that align with the job you want? This way, your psychology research assistant resume won’t be a walk down memory lane but your ticket to that interview seat.
Why this resume works
- If you’re a biology research assistant, your schedule is likely packed. But let’s be honest, that’s not a good enough excuse to submit a less-than-stellar resume. The good news is, technological tools can make your piece shine and charm the hiring team.
- Crafting your biology research assistant resume the old-school way could eat up hours. Here’s a sweet shortcut: snag yourself a top-notch resume builder, and boom, you’re crafting a winning resume in a fraction of the time. Couple that with a tool like Grammarly to do away with typos, grammatical mistakes, and punctuation errors, and soon, your masterpiece will be ready.
Why this resume works
- When you’re looking to get a role as an undergraduate research assistant, there is an implicit understanding that you may not have a lot of real-world experience to list on your resume.
- However, even if you don’t have experience as a research assistant, include whatever work experience you have. Having any sort of job demonstrates responsibility, initiative, and the ability to work with others well.
- Regarding your undergraduate research resume, the resume template you choose can play a significant factor in determining whether you get an interview.
- Choose a template that allows you to add sections (like projects) to make up for a lack of experience while also filling the page.
Why this resume works
- A strong graduate research assistant resume should include a career objective that describes your topic of interest. Tell prospective programs how you’ll contribute to their legacy as a research institution through your work in the field.
Why this resume works
- Although it takes up space, adding a resume summary is a great addition to your postdoctoral research assistant resume.
- This section highlights your expertise, years of experience in your field, and achievements. Just remember to tailor it for each application.
- Because of your experience, you may wonder if it’s applicable to add projects to your resume. Yup, and it’s even encouraged if you don’t have boatloads of research assistant experience.
- Consider including projects such as club membership (especially if you founded it yourself), volunteer experiences, or independent research.
- Projects also make great examples to discuss in your research assistant cover letter.
Related resume guides
Customize Your Research Assistant Resume to the Job
You’re the perfect person to create a stellar resume. After all, impressing an employer or a professor is all about research, and that’s something you’re already great at! However, with a vast number of research roles available, you may find yourself staring at a blank resume with no idea where to start.
We know—begin with the job description! The responsibilities listed there will help fill your resume with useful skills and experiences. Which ones of these best apply to your background?
- Collect, organize, and analyze data using surveys, interviews, experiments, and field observations
- Prepare materials and research cases for further study
- Perform literature reviews, including organizing results, writing summaries, and searching for sources
- Maintain clear and concise records, including confidential data
- Manipulate, clean, and visualize data, providing weekly and monthly reports to senior faculty members
- Participate in research meetings and present in-progress and final results
